Great Bird Island is a tiny islet lying almost three kilometers north-east of

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

. Measuring just , it is smaller than most city parks. It is a private island but open to the public.

Flora and Fauna

The island is the only place on Earth where you can see an Antiguan racer (''Alsophis antiguae'') in the wild. The entire world population of this snake no longer lives on just the one island. Named by sailors who were amazed at the number of birds that they found living and nesting there, Great Bird Island is a miniature paradise. As well as being the last refuge of the Antiguan racer, it is also home to a variety of other endangered creatures including the near-threatened

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia altho ...

'' Pholidoscelis griswoldi'', brown pelicans (''Pelecanus occidentalis''),

West Indian whistling duck The West Indian whistling duck (''Dendrocygna arborea'') is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck. Distribution The West Indian whistling duck is widely scatter ...

s and red-billed tropicbirds (''Phaethon aethereus'').Bob Downin
Antigua offers 365 beaches full of sand, sights and water sports for travelers
''Akron Beacon Journal'' Jul 10, 2011 Hundreds of

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...

s lived there until recently.

References

Uninhabited islands of Antigua and Barbuda Private islands of Antigua and Barbuda Saint Peter Parish, Antigua and Barbuda {{Antigua-geo-stub